Wikipedia

Ricky Wellard

Ricky Ben Wellard (born 9 May 1988) is an Ex-Professional footballer who is currently the U16 Head Coach at AFC Bournemouth

Ricky Wellard
Personal information
Full name Ricky Ben Wellard[1]
Date of birth (1988-05-09) 9 May 1988 (age 36)[1]
Place of birth Hammersmith, England
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 AFC Bournemouth
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2009 Ashford Town
2009–2012 AFC Wimbledon 79 (4)
2011 → Cambridge United (loan) 9 (0)
2012–2013 Cambridge United 17 (1)
2012 → Salisbury City (loan) 3 (1)
2013–2014 Salisbury City 46 (1)
2014–2015 Sutton United 30 (3)
2015–2016 Welling United 28 (1)
2016 Hemel Hempstead Town 12 (1)
2016–2018 Wealdstone 61 (6)
2018–2019 Hampton & Richmond Borough 30 (0)
2019 Salisbury 2 (0)
2019–2022 Bedfont Sports 31 (6)
2023– Farnham Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 116:04, 25 March 2024 (UTC)

Career

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Ashford Town (Middlesex)

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Wellard was born in Hammersmith, London.[1] He came through the ranks of the Ashford Town (Middlesex) and made his debut for the Tangerines against Stourport Swifts on 8 January 2005, as a late sub for Anthony Eggington.[2] He went on to make 190 first team appearances for Ashford Town including scoring the winning goal in the 2009 Surrey Senior Cup final.[3] During his time at the club Wellard was also groundsman at Short Lane. In the summer of 2008, AFC Wimbledon had a transfer bid rejected which was described as 'derisory' by the Ashford board.[4] However, the Dons second bid the following summer was more successful for an undisclosed fee plus add-ons.[5] At the time of the transfer, Wellard was one of only three players to have ever commanded a transfer fee at Ashford, with the others being Dannie Bulman and Richard Butler.[2]

AFC Wimbledon

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Wellard became a regular in the AFC Wimbledon side and made 43 appearances in his first season for the Dons as they didn't quite make the Conference play-offs.[6] His second season at the club saw him move down the pecking order in central midfield in January after the arrival of James Mulley. In February 2011, Wellard was sent on loan to fellow Conference side Cambridge United on a month-long loan.[7] However, he was recalled early from his loan by Terry Brown due to an injury crisis at the Kingsmeadow Stadium.[8] He regained his place in the Dons' first team and eventually played in the 2011 Conference Play-off final win over Luton Town, which saw the Dons gain a place in the Football League.[9] In May 2012, Wellard was released from the club due to the expiry of his contract.[10]

Cambridge United

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Wellard signed a two-year contract with The U's on 18 May 2012[11] following his release from AFC Wimbledon earlier in the month. U's boss Jez George was quick to snap up the midfielder early in the summer transfer window in a deal which saw the Londoner return to the Abbey Stadium on a permanent basis following a popular loan spell back in February 2011.

In November 2012, he joined Conference South side Salisbury City on a one-month loan deal.[12]

Salisbury City

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After a successful loan spell at Salisbury, he returned permanently, signing a contract until the end of the 2013–14 season. He featured in the squad regularly, and scored a vital free kick in the Conference South play-off final against Dover Athletic.

Sutton United

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He signed for Sutton United in July 2014, and made his debut against Winchester City in a pre-season friendly.

Welling United

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In May 2015, he signed for National League side Welling United on a free transfer.[13]

Wealdstone

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In 2016, he signed for Wealdstone. He left the club in May 2018.

Bedfont

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On 25 December 2019, Wellard moved to Bedfont Sports.[14]

Farnham Town

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In July 2023, Wellard joined Combined Counties Football League Premier Division South club Farnham Town.[15]

Career statistics

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As of match played on 9 December 2017
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
AFC Wimbledon 2009–10[16] Conference Premier 32 1 2 0 — 3[a] 1 37 2
2010–11[17] Conference Premier 25 2 4 0 — 5[b] 0 34 2
2011–12[18] League Two 22 1 3 0 1 0 2[c] 0 28 1
Total 79 4 9 0 1 0 10 1 99 5
Cambridge United (loan) 2010–11[19] Conference Premier 9 0 — — — 9 0
Cambridge United 2012–13[20] Conference Premier 17 1 1 0 — 0 0 18 1
Total 26 1 1 0 — 0 0 27 1
Salisbury City 2012–13[20] Conference South 18 1 — — 4[d] 1 22 2
2013–14[20] Conference Premier 31 1 1 0 — 1[a] 0 33 1
Total 49 2 1 0 — 5 1 55 3
Sutton United 2014–15[20] Conference South 30 3 0 0 — 1[a] 0 31 3
Welling United 2015–16[20] National League 28 1 4 1 — 2[a] 1 34 3
Hemel Hempstead Town 2015–16[20] National League South 12 1 0 0 — 0 0 12 1
Wealdstone 2016–17[20] National League South 36 3 1 0 — 0 0 37 3
2017–18[20] 12 0 0 0 — 2[a] 1 14 1
Total 48 3 1 0 0 0 2 1 51 4
Bedfont Sports 2019–20[21] Isthmian League South Central 8 0 — — 2[e] 0 10 0
2020–21[22] Isthmian League South Central 3 0 2 0 — 0 0 5 0
2021–22[23] Isthmian League South Central 20 6 4 2 — 0 0 24 8
Total 31 6 6 2 0 0 2 0 39 8
Career total 303 21 22 3 1 0 22 4 348 28
  1. ^ a b c d e Appearances in FA Trophy
  2. ^ Two appearances in FA Trophy, three in Conference Premier play-offs
  3. ^ Appearances in Football League Trophy
  4. ^ One appearance in FA Trophy, three appearances and one goal in Conference South play-offs
  5. ^ Two appearances in Middlesex Senior Challenge Cup

Honours

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AFC Wimbledon

Salisbury City

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Ricky Wellard". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b "No Bones". 29 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Tangerines dig deep to win Surrey Senior Cup". 29 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  4. ^ "Wellard set for Wimbledon Talks". 20 May 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  5. ^ "DONS FINALLY GET THEIR MAN". 26 August 2009. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "Player Profile – Ricky Wellard". 1 August 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  7. ^ "Dons midfielder Ricky Wellard joins Cambridge United on loan". 11 February 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  8. ^ "Dons boss explains Ricky Wellard decision". 22 March 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  9. ^ Nakrani, Sachin (21 May 2011). "AFC Wimbledon beat Luton on penalties to reach the Football League". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  10. ^ "AFC Wimbledon release nine players". London 24. London. 8 May 2012. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  11. ^ "Jez collars Wellard". 18 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  12. ^ "Whites swoop for Wellard". 21 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  13. ^ "Ricky Wellard: Welling sign ex-AFC Wimbledon midfielder". BBC Sport. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  14. ^ WELCOME RICKY WELLARD, pitchero.com, 24 December 2019
  15. ^ @FarnhamTownFC (20 July 2023). "✍️ 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐒 Farnham Town are pleased to announce the signing of midfielder Ricky Wellard for the 23/24 season! @wellard_8 has had a storied career in football, playing in the Football League with AFC Wimbledon and has amassed over 190 appearances with Step 1 clubs during his time with the Dons, Cambridge United, Salisbury City and Welling United. Having also played under @Johno1006 & @Jimmy_Hibburt at Bedfont Sports, Ricky will be in the squad this Saturday to play @TheCurfews at The Memorial Ground as our pre-season rumbles on. 💪" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 March 2024 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Williams, Tony; Wright, James, eds. (2010). Non-League Club Directory 2011. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-1-869833-68-8.
  17. ^ a b Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2011). Non-League Club Directory 2012. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 162–163. ISBN 978-1-869833-70-1.
  18. ^ "Games played by Ricky Wellard in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  19. ^ Williams; Williams (eds.). Non-League Club Directory 2012. pp. 52–53.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ricky Wellard at Soccerway. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  21. ^ "Bedfont Sports – Appearances – Ricky Wellard – 2019-2020". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Bedfont Sports – Appearances – Ricky Wellard – 2020-2021". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Bedfont Sports – Appearances – Ricky Wellard – 2021-2022". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
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